The organization that runs soccer in the United States says its mens and womens national soccer teams will receive equal pay.The U.S. is the first country in the world to make such a promise.
The U.S. Soccer Federation made the announcement Wednesday.It worked with players groups from both the mens and womens teams to reach an agreement that runs through the end of 2028.
Both groups of players had been playing in games without contracts.
The American womens soccer team is one of the best in the world.The mens soccer team has seen less success; it did not qualify for the World Cup in 2018.Players on the mens team, however, have always received much more money than players on the womens team.
Margaret Purce is a player for the womens team.She said the agreement will help women and girls "recognize their value rather than having to fight for it."
The final part of the agreement that needed to be worked out was how the players would be paid for competing in the World Cup.The womens team won the last two tournaments but still earned far less than the men.
The players groups, known as unions, agreed to combine the money they received from FIFA, the soccer organization that runs the World Cup.
After the U.S. Soccer Federation takes 10 percent of the money, the rest will be divided equally among the players.Each team has 23 players.
This is important for the female players because there is still much more money in the mens game.In 2018, the last place mens team took home twice as much money compared to the winning American womens team.
Walker Zimmermann is a male player who worked on the contract.He said he was excited."We saw it as an opportunity to be leaders in this front and join with the womens side…"
Purce said she was "grateful for this accomplishment and for all the people who came together to make it so."However, she added she believed paying men and women equally "is what youre supposed to do."
In the new contract, the women gave up salary guarantees in return for an equal share of the money brought in by U.S. Soccer.
Both male and female players will get help caring for children when they are playing.Before, that was a benefit only for the female players.Both the men and women will also get money for their retirement and share a percentage of the money that comes from ticket sales at their games.
Cindy Parlow Cone is a former member of the womens team.She is now in charge of the U.S. Soccer Federation.She said the key to reaching the agreement was permitting the male and female players to work together during the process.She said working separately was "a challenge." At one point, she thought they would not come up with a good plan.
Mark Levinstein is a lawyer for the mens group.He said the new agreement ends "more than 20 years of federation discrimination against" the female players.
翻译：在美国经营足球的组织表示，其国家队的男足和女足将获得同等薪酬。美国是世界上第一个做出这样承诺的国家。
美国足协周三宣布了这一消息。与来自男队和女队的球员合作，达成这项到2028年底的协议。
男足和女足之前都是在没有合同的情况下参加比赛。
美国女子足球队是世界上最好的球队之一。男子足球队就没那么厉害了;它连2018年世界杯的参赛资格都没有获得。然而，男足总是比女足获得的报酬高。
玛格丽特·珀斯是女队的一名球员。她说，这项协议将帮助妇女和女孩“认识到她们的价值，而不是不得不为之而战”。
协议的最后一部分需要解决的是球员参加世界杯的报酬。女队赢得了最近两届锦标赛的冠军，但收入仍然远远低于男队。
这些被称为工会的球员同意将他们从运营世界杯的足球组织国际足联(FIFA)获得的资金放到一起。
美国足协拿走10%的奖金后，剩下的将在球员之间平均分配。每支球队都有23名球员。
这对女性运动员来说很重要，因为男性运动员的收入仍然要高得多。2018年，男足是倒数第一名，但是他们的报酬是夺冠的美国女足的两倍。
沃克·齐默尔曼是一名参与合同的男性球员。他说他很兴奋。“我们认为这是一个机会，可以成为实现男女队同酬的先锋，加入女性阵营……”
珀斯说，她“非常感谢这次的成就，感谢所有齐心协力促成这项协议的人。”然而，她补充说，她相信给男性和女性平等的薪酬是“应该做的事”。
在新合同中，这些女性放弃了工资保障，以换取美国足球带来的同等份额的收入。
男性和女性运动员在赛季都会得到照顾孩子的待遇。以前，这只是女球员的福利。男女球员都能获得退休金，并从比赛门票收入中分得一定比例的分成。
辛迪·帕洛·科恩是女队的前队员。她现在负责美国足球联合会。她说，达成协议的关键是允许男性和女性球员在这个过程中合作。她说，分开工作是一个“挑战”。她一度认为他们不会想出一个好计划。
马克·莱文斯坦是男队的律师。他说，新的协议结束了“20多年来联盟对女球员的歧视”。